Apps2SD All in one tool[2.3+]: Partition SD card and Move/Link Apps to SD card [ROOT]

[Numatu]

I've a little problem. the device see the partition with the apps linked but don't see the normal partition with the data, but in recovery twrp it's present and i see all files

 

[AnonVendetta]

I've a little problem. the device see the partition with the apps linked but don't see the normal partition with the data, but in recovery twrp it's present and i see all files

You will have to explain better. That made no sense to me.

 

[Numatu]

In my sdcard i ' ve 2 partition. 1 for the applications linked and 1 for data.
With Your help now the Partition with applications work and is visible by android system, while the second is not visible by android. If i open file manager of twrp, it see the partition with the data, files, everýthing. But if i start phone normally the partition of data is invisible, like it Was not inserted

 

[AnonVendetta]

In my sdcard i ' ve 2 partition. 1 for the applications linked and 1 for data.
With Your help now the Partition with applications work and is visible by android system, while the second is not visible by android. If i open file manager of twrp, it see the partition with the data, files, everýthing. But if i start phone normally the partition of data is invisible, like it Was not inserted

Maybe the 1st partition is what you have your apps linked to, and the 2nd is where your data is. In that case, stock Android ROMs wouldnt be able to access the data partition.

Go to Play Store, install Aparted. Open it and take a screenshot.

 

[Numatu]

I think there is a problem in the script.
My phone has 64gb of intern memory.
Have AN sdcard of 256gb partitioned in one partition of 56gb for applications and one of 200 for data.
But if i look in android, it Was like intern memory of 28gb.
I can' t install anything and i can't make screenshot, because it says there isn't enough space

 

[AnonVendetta]

I think there is a problem in the script.
My phone has 64gb of intern memory.
Have AN sdcard of 256gb partitioned in one partition of 56gb for applications and one of 200 for data.
But if i look in android, it Was like intern memory of 28gb.
I can' t install anything and i can't make screenshot, because it says there isn't enough space

Can you take a picture of it with another phone?

 

[AnonVendetta]

You may need to reflash your firmware or do a factory reset to fix this. But first, we need to see if your SD card is partitioned correctly.

Your data partition should be the 1st partition, and partition for linking should be 2nd. If they are in reverse order, stock Android firmwares wont be able to access the 1st partition.

 

[Numatu]

I have simply rooted my phone with magisk, no stock firmware. It seems i have only the system memory and the free intern memory, and in the sdcard the parttion of applications.But before sdcard worked good with both this partitions

 

[Numatu]

I tried to start device without sdcard and after this is memory of the phone...
And if I try the sdcard in other phone without root, the only partitions readed is the partition of data

 

[AnonVendetta]

I tried to start device without sdcard and after this is memory of the phone...
And if I try the sdcard in other phone without root, the only partitions readed is the partition of data

So you are out of space even without the SD card? If that's the case, then only a firmware/ROM reflash or factory data reset will fix it.

 

[Numatu]

S,o you are out of space even without the SD card? If that's the case, then only a firmware/ROM reflash or factory data reset will fix it.

There isn't any solution

 

[Zealdes]

Great app. It continues to work even now after its last update in 2018. It's sad that it's discontinued.

I have some issues, likely due to android system change over the years. App cache is now located in the app's internal data folder, so linking data will also link cache, but linking cache will reduce performance heavily. I think it's possible to work around this by moving cache elsewhere in /data, then move and link only the internal data (without cache) to sdcard, then link the moved cache to that moved data. So cache will still be in internal memory, linked to data folder in sdcard, then linked back to internal memory inside data folder. The 2nd partition might have to be ext fs, idk.

Does the author have or plan to have the source available publicly, maybe in github?

Edit:
This is achievable "manually" with folder mount option. I linked data to sdext, then I "manually" mounted the cache folder in sdext to a folder I created in /data. I tried this for Facebook app but it turns out it's just as slow as having both data and cache in sdext. I've tried both with Symlink and with Bind, but they're equally bad. It took ages for the app to load. I guess Facebook is heavy on the data folder.

 

[YK RAJ]

Hi,
Can we increase the partition size of SDcard(1st Partition) and reduce the size of sdext2(2nd Partition) without formatting using pc app "Disk Management Tool"? The way we can shrink and expand the pc drive size without formatting, In the same way, Can we change the size of SDcard partition too?

 

[AnonVendetta]

@YK RAJ: The "SDcard" partition is first, and sdext2 is 2nd. So, assuming your MicroSD is formatted this way (and it should be this way, due to how stock Android firmwares only natively mounts the 1st primary partition that has a compatible filesystem), then you will need to delete 2nd partition, increase size of 1st partition, then recreate 2nd partition as something being smaller than what it is now.

If you currently have apps linked to sdext2, you should unlink or uninstall them before proceeding.

You can do this in Windows with something like MiniTool free edition. Or in Linux, it has numerous partitioning programs. You can also do it on the phone with Apps2SD or AParted (although I think Apps2SD's inbuilt partitioner isn't so flexible, and will force you to format the entire card). I personally recommend AParted for this, just be careful not to delete what you wish to keep.

 

[YK RAJ]

@YK RAJ: The "SDcard" partition is first, and sdext2 is 2nd. So, assuming your MicroSD is formatted this way (and it should be this way, due to how stock Android firmwares only natively mounts the 1st primary partition that has a compatible filesystem), then you will need to delete 2nd partition, increase size of 1st partition, then recreate 2nd partition as something being smaller than what it is now.

If you currently have apps linked to sdext2, you should unlink or uninstall them before proceeding.

You can do this in Windows with something like MiniTool free edition. Or in Linux, it has numerous partitioning programs. You can also do it on the phone with Apps2SD or AParted (although I think Apps2SD's inbuilt partitioner isn't so flexible, and will force you to format the entire card). I personally recommend AParted for this, just be careful not to delete what you wish to keep.

Thanks, Will try Aparted!

 

[AnonVendetta]

I just upgraded my Samsung tab to Android 12, and decided to test Apps2SD again. Unfortunately my results are the same as before. You can link an app's internal data just fine, linked apps continue working. However, linking obb files to 2nd partition fails. I can link them to the SD's 1st partition, Apps2SD claims linking is successful. But when I check the /Android/obb/ folder on SD, nothing has been moved, and the respective app fails to launch normally.

In short, for Android 11/12, you shouldn't trust Apps2SD to link anything in /sdcard/Android/data or /sdcard/Android/obb, due to the Scoped Storage restrictions. The locations listed above may also/or be located at /storage/emulated/0 on some firmwares. However, linking an app's internal data (located in the data partition, not including internal/external storage) seems to be safe. It's a long shot that Apps2SD will ever be updated, but we can hope.

Most Apps2SD users will be rooted with Magisk these days, so be sure to use /data/adb/service.d for the mount script location (configure it in Apps2SD settings before creating mount script). Also, it's best to not let Apps2SD modify system partition. Using the advanced mount option will likely result in a failure to create the script, or an inability to boot.

Here are some alternatives you can try to address these shortcomings:

XInternalSD:
Requires EdXposed or LSPosed
Can't link internal data
Can select which apps it should be enabled/disabled for
Doesn't require 2nd partition on SD

Obb On SD:
Requires EdXposed or LSPosed
Can't link internal data
Can't select which apps to enable it for
The app will claim it's not enabled in Xposed, you can just ignore this by tapping outside the dialog, it will still work
Doesn't require 2nd partition on SD

Fbind:
Requires Magisk/root
Can't link internal data
Requires usage of a terminal emulator app, it has no GUI
Doesn't require 2nd partition on SD

Not all of these will work with all apps, try more than one if you have issues.

Even with these issues, I think that Apps2SD still remains somewhat useful, but not as much as it was before on older Android versions. If you're willing to root your phone and try EdXposed/LSPosed, you will find that these limitations are tolerable.

An alternative for non rooted users would be adoptable storage.

 

[RootedLee]

@AnonVendetta awesome write-up - thank you!

 

[RootedLee]

@AnonVendetta have you also tried and compared AppMgr III (updated as of March 24, 2022)?

 

[AnonVendetta]

@AnonVendetta have you also tried and compared AppMgr III (updated as of March 24, 2022)?

Yes, I have, and it's nowhere near as powerful as Apps2SD. AppMgr III is better for not rooted, Apps2SD is better for rooted.

 

[RootedLee]

Gotcha, thank you.

BTW, are you still sure that Fbind (even latest 2021-12-07) can't link internal data?

int_extf <path> Bind-mount the entire user 0 (internal) storage to $extsd/<path> (implies obb). If <path> is not supplied, .fbind is used.


e.g., int_extf .external_storage